Don't Call them Domain Squatters
The response in the registration of dot in domain names after
the new system of generic names were introduced appears to have unnerved a few.
For any observer of the Internet it was clear from the beginning that there
would be a large response for generic name registrations which are being
conveniently termed as "Cyber Squatting" by some.
It would be unfair to call the domain name registrants in dot
in generic domains as "Squatters". They have registered the domain names on a
first cum first served basis that too after a "Sun Rise Period". If this is
wrong then the whole system of inducing a person to register a name and later
object to its being similar to or confusingly similar to a registered trademark
is a fraud on the innocent public.
The views of the undersigned in this respect are well known
and are explained in the website
www.verify4lookalikes.com elaborately. The essence of the view is that the
disputes between Trademark owners and domain name owners is not completely
resolvable. We need to learn to live with the system where there is overlapping
of trade mark rights over domain name rights. Verify4lookalikes is a service
designed for the purpose which incidentally passed through a global patent
examination.
It is important for every one to understand that the domain
name system is one which was developed by as a convenient form of identifying
web sites. It was not designed to help Trade Mark Owners proliferate their Meta
Society right. From the very beginning it was decided that a domain name has to
be seen along with its extension. Hence timesof india.com was considered a
different name from timesofindia.org. It was for this reason that whitehouse.com,
nasa.com, uspto.com etc became domain names not registered by the ostensible
first claimants to the name. They wer happy to register the .gov extension and
leave it to the general public to do whatever necessary with the other
extensions.
If this principle that TLDs make names different is not
accepted, then the very existence of over 500 types of TLDs becomes untenable
and the whole system has to be disbanded. This is neither practical nor
necessary.
It is therefore necessary for every one to learn to live with
names with dot in extension though there may be some issues of confusion with
earlier registered names.
Naavi
February 23, 2005
Related Articles:
Domain
squatters threat to '.in'..TOI
Articles in
naavi.org on domain names
